Sonnet 18
by heartsn'minds
Summary: She'll live forever, of that he's certain. She'll reign for an eternity in his mind and heart, but he prays that she'll come to him in being as well. Klaus observes what he has done and wonders if his blonde angel can ever redeem him. Oneshot. (Not actually a sonnet, title is based off of Shakespeare's 18th sonnet).


He was a monster, that she knew. He slaughtered innocents as if they were nothing but hogs for Christmas, he had no remorse, only taking pleasure in the kills he made, the families he tore apart, the death toll on his never-ending tally. The humanity in him, that faint shred, was buried so deep within his black heart there were doubts - even amongst his siblings dear - that humanity even existed within him. That he was evil incarnate and that all who beheld him were to fear him, revere him because the immense power he wielded was a mighty one - something to become attuned to and something to dance around on with a fear that one false move, and the inevitable would occur a few decades faster than it ought to. And yet, despite all this, despite all the knowledge that she held she couldn't hold herself back from loving him.

It would be a sin to say that she did not love him, for the imperfect emotion burned so strongly in her that she feared she had been made to love him. To be with him. To be his light because she knew that he was her fire - a strong roaring fire that would never extinguish, it burned within him and now it roared within her - she was connected to him and she so adored the fullness and devotion she felt when she saw him. Uncompelled, pure and true love. It frightened her that she could forgive him for the deaths of so many - for the deaths of Jenna, Carol and so many others that he slaughtered because of one simple fact: she loves him. And she knows him. She knows that he killed out of hurt, he killed to protect those he held dear to his heart; he killed because he was afraid, he killed because there were emotions too temperamental for him to handle. He killed because it gave him what he wanted, he killed because it made him forget. Forget about the ache in his heart when he looked round him at dusks' presences and saw nothing but a magnificent palace, lacking soul, lacking warmth…lacking heart.

How could he explain what he felt when she ran from him? When she left him to pursue that foolish Lockwood boy? How he wanted to brandish the vile being from existence with one swipe of his hand and then take his Caroline, take his beloved and show her the world. Show her just what the world had to offer for a queen like her…but she had left. Left and never looked back.

What more could he do but to drink the hurt away? He had felt a small ounce of remorse when Finn died, that he would begrudgingly admit; he felt a certain ache within him when Esther perished because throughout it all, she was his mother. And the pain that erupted within him when he saw Kol fall was the pain he felt when that white oak dagger hit his heart - Kol was his brother. And he died because of a human who was too selfish to see past her own needs and desires. And that night, when he felt his world crumble and fall, when he realized that there truly was not a soul in the world who would truly be with him, save for Elijah who was halfway across the world and Rebekah who resented him for his betrayal…he had felt an overwhelming urge to kill every being he crossed paths with. He had wanted to rip out the doppelgänger's heart and then tear the putrid skin from that infernal hunter that was Jeremy Gilbert; he had wanted to slam the head of the Bennett witch into concrete and then have Damon Salvatore's neck snapped in two. And he would have, until a blonde angel appeared to save him.

She truly did rise above the bloodshed, appearing in his manor after the spell was gone and he was freed from that infernal Gilbert home. In her arms she bore her purse and her eyes were soft, no judgement in them; she had walked over to him and sat by his side as he stared into the roaring flames. Not a word passed between the two, but when Caroline's head fell unto his shoulder, when she leaned in against his body like he were her savior, he felt his own arms wrap around the blue eyed angel and the two mourned in perfect unity. He mourned for Kol, she mourned for Klaus. She mourned for him.

Their lips hadn't pressed against each others, but her words had struck him to the core, breaking the stifling silence of his grand mansion.

"I don't hate you Klaus, despite what I might say. I hate that I care about you, I hate that I want to be with you. I hate that I can forgive you for what you've done and what you will do. I hate that…" and she had trailed off from there, leaving Klaus's heart pounding his mouth dry.

Oh, how he wanted to press the words from her lips, how he wanted to hear them spoken aloud. How he knew that she was wearing her heart on her sleeve at that moment and how he could finally, finally be sated and saved from years of darkness. It would have been mere seconds more but it seemed fate had been displeased with Klaus enough to wage to him an eternity of torture, for right at that moment, right in that second, Tyler Lockwood appeared. He appeared and he was hell bent on taking Caroline away with him and away from Klaus; he had looked his blonde angel in the eye and he could see tears - tears - forming in her eyes as she looked back at him. He could hear her unspoken confession ringing in his mind (though he dared not to believe it) and he could hear the words that she had left hanging in the air the moment Tyler had come in.

He knew why she left. She left out of moral obligation - because the humanity within her was incessant, and because she was pure and good and strong - she left with Tyler because he had no one else. And there was a part of her whose tenderness extended to all beings - even those who should be left rotting in the gutter, though Klaus can't really say he doesn't belong within that category. And so he bit his tongue and let her go, because he loves her and he knows that was right thing to do. Because he knows, knows that in a year - or even a century from now - that his Caroline will come back to him, just as she had promised. That unspoken declaration between them hung in the air, even now. Because the moment she left, she'd left a piece of her behind with him - both physically and emotionally. The soft eyes, the tender words, her honesty springing forth telling Klaus of what she felt; but she had placed in his hands (before her departure) a silver chain and pendent, scratched and slightly aged from the years it had hung round her neck. Her initials inscribed on the back. He wears it still, waiting for the knock on the door.

* * *

"We're leaving."

"You can't be serious, Nik! We can't leave now, prom is just around the corner!"

"Then stay."

Rebekah's eyes widen. "But what about you, Nik? What about you and Caroline?"

A faint smile is all she receives before Klaus turns and walks out of the room.

* * *

Rebekah doesn't go to prom; she claims it's dull and boring and she can't stand it. They make it to Mexico before he discovers Rebekah's been writing to Stefan Salvatore every night.

* * *

"This is a very grand plantation mansion, monsieur Mikaelson," the elderly realtor prods as he stares at the wealthy man before him. "But," he hesitates, "it is very large, very…lonely it can get for two people, monsieur."

"I'll take it."

"Oui, monsieur."

* * *

All of New Orleans knows of Niklaus Mikaelson, he's famous to the humans for his wealth, good looks, charm, power and prestige. For the supernatural community, he's famous just because he's Klaus Mikaelson.

Women throw themselves at him but Klaus hardly even notices them; when Kol arrives, the women of New Orleans breathes a sigh of relief that there's another Mikaelson's pockets for them to claw into. Elijah visits occasionally and the women are horrified to discover he has a girl hanging off his arm who's lovely and conniving and who he's hopelessly in love with.

* * *

"You know they say that he's got a girl waiting for him back in England," hushed whispers confess.

"I hear that he's got a wife already. She ran away but he's just waiting for her to come back."

"What a silly little thing! Why on earth would she ever leave a man like that, hm? Rich and good looking and just…oh! If my Penny could get him…"

"Don't even think about it Dolly, you and I both know that if it's anybody who's going to get the likes of Niklaus Mikaelson it'll be my Anna Sue!"

How wrong they both were.

* * *

It's on a Tuesday when a knock on his New Orleans mansion rings; a hybrid by the name of Andrew is the one who unlocks the door and escorts an unparalleled beauty into the study upstairs.

Klaus, however, is in his room. His easel is up and he's painting from memory - he's painting a portrait of her - eyes blue as the sky, curls so golden and cheeks flushed with laughter and cheer. He can hear the sound of her laughter echoing throughout his head, he can hear her voice, happy and soothing and oh so clear. He's absorbed in his masterpiece and only turns round when he smells that scent…it's a raspberry perfume intertwined with another scent that only one other being in the world possess - his Caroline.

Immediately, Klaus spins around in his seat and his eyes are coated in mirth, relief and a slight cockiness that he cannot shed when he sees she's returned to him. She's dressed in a virginal white with a secret smile upon her lips, awaiting him. He waves a hand at Andrew who quickly rushes out, closing the door behind him as Klaus stands and makes his way towards his blonde angel.

A giggle escapes her lips because she knows that he has already fathomed this apparition in his mind more times than he'll ever admit.

"You were right you know." She whispers, when Klaus's body is pressed against hers, "I did come back to you."

A chuckle leaves his own lips as he reaches down to caress her soft cheek, his own eyes tender with love. "I'm glad you did, love." He murmurs down gently, eyes gleaming when he hears her breath hitch.

"You're wearing it," she suddenly says, her eyes now fixed upon Klaus's chest where her pendant dangling beneath his shirt. She can see the faint heart shape underneath and her fingertips reach up to trace it, eyes transfixed.

Klaus suppresses a moan because years without her touch has been the greatest torture that judgement day could ever afflict upon him. Looking down, he sees that her heart is still on her sleeve - even after all this time, and he feels her words nearly tumble from his mouth, but he holds back. Because he has to know.

"Tell me, love," he urges, "tell me how you feel." His voice is pleading now, as if he will perish without her confession and he's almost certain that he will.

He sees the spark of life dance amusedly in her eyes and she wraps her warms around his neck, leans in close as their eyes are fixed upon each other and her words leave her mouth, graceful and honest…as if she's been waiting as long as he has to say them.

"I love you Klaus Mikaelson. And I've tried my best to convince myself I don't but…well, delusions can only carry so much weight before truth sets in," Caroline admits, looking into Klaus's relieved eyes. "I want an eternity with you."

He exhales and he thinks to the fact that he's never believed in happy endings. That his sister's daydreams were foolish impulses of a young girl whose parents left too soon, he never understood why Elijah craved the affections of such a troublesome doppelgänger, try as he might. And though Klaus pretended to care little for Finn, he was as intrigued as he could be when he discovered that his eldest brother had fallen head over heels in love with a common village whore. The disgust that he felt had been evident on his face when Finn, the lovestruck fool, had braved him for a peasant! He could not understand the irrational impulses that had led his siblings down such paths of destruction…Alexander, Katerina, Sage…they were all names which had brought misery down unto the Mikaelson name and they were people whom his own siblings adored beyond reason, beyond explanation.

Up until Klaus's meeting with the young blonde cheerleader, he had been convinced that the foolish impulses of his siblings was a mere phase that must occur and he prided himself on never succumbing to such a disease. But fate was a cruel dealer every now and then, and it of course had Klaus face the backlash of his words and have him be the greatest fool of all: the love he had for Caroline was so much greater than any of the love his siblings could possess for their respective counterparts. He may be the devil reincarnate with a fiery temper and a black heart, but once a shard of light pierces such a demonic creature, then the love that manages to leek out is stronger than any evil within. It stuns him how a few words from a baby vampire can turn his own world upside down and how now, now Klaus feels the same reckless foolishness that he knows will drive him mad but he has ceased to care. Now it's Klaus's turn to confess. Confess everything and the fear that he has kept buried for when such a confrontation came comes crawling up his spine again, but he ignores it because he's Klaus Mikaelson and he's going to take this gamble, rationality be damned.

Leaning down, he tenderly looks his sweet lover in the eye as he murmurs, oh so gently, "as I love you, Miss Forbes," and not an ounce of regret plagues his soul…truth be told, he's never felt more free.

She laughs and he knows that her virginal white is about become a cardinal red sin, because he's going to make sure she remains a virgin to him no longer.


End file.
